A Letchworth theatre company has pledged to work with struggling local venues to help keep the industry afloat in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

AMA Theatre Company – a husband and wife team based in Letchworth – tour with professional shows and plays across the UK, particularly reaching communities who find it difficult to go to traditional live performances.

Annie Albici and Ian Britten-Hull take an annual pantomime show to local care homes, and specialise in productions for children.

Now however, the couple have their sights set on mitigating some of the critical damage done to the local theatre industry during lockdown.

“One area that has been particularly adversely affected by coronavirus is our industry of live performance,” Annie told the Comet.

“Like many theatres, we are non-profit-making, and all our income is ploughed back into the business to produce our future shows. Since the lockdown in March, we have been unable to provide any live shows and like so many other theatre companies, we are finding it difficult to survive.”

As a result, Annie and Ian have decided to channel their creative efforts into the development of unique virtual shows.

“We turned our lounge into a small makeshift studio, made six video shows for children, and have written and filmed our unique production Comedy of Terrors – a virtual comedy murder mystery,” Annie said.

“We have also been devising and rehearsing two-person shows and plays for when live performing venues may reopen.

“It is our aim to put on a variety of shows to help smaller venues who have been particularly adversely affected. The great thing about being a couple is that we are unaffected by social distancing, and can work together on stage.

“We can control sound and lighting ourselves from backstage, eliminating the need for any stage crew to work with us.

“We want to work with local venues to provide instant shows that can generate revenue as soon as possible, and help our industry recover sooner.”

For further information on AMA Theatre, and links to their virtual shows, visit their Facebook page at @amaeventschildren, or go to their website at amaevents.biz